Austrian hockey team was partying hard before losing to Slovenia

SOCHI, Russia, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- A factor that may have had a hand in Austria losing to Slovenia in hockey during the qualifying rounds is that the Austrian hockey team partied the night before.

Usually when a men's hockey team is fifteenth in the world, no one would bat an eye at them losing in the qualifying rounds of the Olympics. That is, no one would bat an eye if there weren't allegations that the members of the team were out partying the night before, some until 6 a.m.

Given that it's a remarkable feat for some people to put on pants after a night like that, the loss to Slovenia -- who played beyond expectations -- makes it hard to judge whether the loss was due to the Austrians' night on the Village. Nonetheless, Austrian head coach Manny Viveiros stated his disappointment in his team, with special attention to the NHLers Thomas Vanek, Michael Grabner, and Michael Raffl: "there will be consequences," and "we will publish their names in the next days."

"I had no idea about it. I was shocked," said Viveiros, "We knew the players went there (Austria House) to eat something. But it was planned that they return to their rooms right afterwards." Viveiros is especially disappointed in Vanek, whom he picked as team captain. Vanek, Grabner, and Raffl all apologized in a letter for their behavior.

Next time they might want to keep the party animals on a leash, or "It's going down, I'm yelling timber."

United Press International is a leading provider of news, photos and information to millions of readers around the globe via UPI.com and its licensing services.

With a history of reliable reporting dating back to 1907, today's UPI is a credible source for the most important stories of the day, continually updated - a one-stop site for U.S. and world news, as well as entertainment, trends, science, health and stunning photography. UPI also provides insightful reports on key topics of geopolitical importance, including energy and security.